In every phase of life, you need
health-care support to maintain good
health.

Take Ada Emard, 89, who has lived
alone in her Lethbridge home since
her husband passed away eight years
ago. Emard doesn’t think of herself
as a regular health-care user as she’s
managed to mostly keep up her good
health. But a major reason for this is
her regular visits to her family doctor,
a key to staying healthy.

“My doctor is very good to me,”Emard says. “The care I receive isgreat.”Emard also eats healthy food,getting her daily requirements ofmeat, fruits, vegetables and milk. “I’mnot a toast and tea sort of person,”she says. Plus, she goes out everyweek to her local seniors centre forcoffee and socializing.

She has had incidents over the past
few years, such as when she had a
racing heart and was admitted to
hospital. But after seeing specialists,
Emard is controlling the condition
with medication.

At the time of Emard’s heart
trouble, her daughter, Claire
McCrank, asked for a review to see
if her mother needed home care. “A
home care case manager visited her,
did a brief assessment and then kept
in contact over the phone for the next
few months,” McCrank explains.

The visit helped reassure Emard’s

In every phase of life,
you need health-care support
to maintain good health

The support you need

family she was still able to look after
herself at home, and Emard was
comforted in knowing about the
services available to her. Anyone may
request such an assessment with no
referral. “And, we can call at any time
and have them come back,” McCrank
adds.

Axsel Iversen in Calgary is well
acquainted with seniors’ health-care
for both of his elderly parents. Much
of it was made easier because he and
his siblings had discussed end-of-life
care with his parents when they were
well, making use of advance care
planning.

“We had written out personaldirectives years ago,” Iversen recalls.“[Our parents] made it very clearto us that they never wanted to bekept alive by machines. They didn’tjust want to be alive; there had to beSo, in 2008, when his father Paulwas in the hospital with terminalcancer, the family decided to movehim to hospice care.

“Just knowing the options reallyhelps. They took wonderful care ofhim, and it was a great experience asfar as dying can be.”Shortly after, Iversen’s mother Bellamoved into supportive living becauseshe couldn’t manage on her own. Shelater suffered a stroke, and a numberof other illnesses and injuries overthe next three years.

Bella’s dementia worsened
dramatically and in the summer of
2013, she had a heart attack. Iversen
and several of his six siblings rushed
to the hospital where Dr. Harbir Gill
explained her condition to the family.

“We talked about her goals of care.(Gill) was very good, and explainedwhat we could do. He madeeverybody feel comfortable so wecould agree about what we wantedBella’s wishes were respected andshe was kept comfortable until shepassed away four days later.

Advance care planning madeall the difference for the Iversenfamily. “It’s important to have thoseconversations because otherwise howdo you know?” Iversen emphasizes.“You need to feel confident thatyou’re doing what they want. Therewas no distress in our family forhow we cared for Mom. We all knewthat in the end, we knew what sheUltimately, aging doesn’t haveto be a negative experience for youor your loved ones, especially ifyou’re proactive about health-careknowledge and decision-making.

“Feeling old is often thought of as
feeling tired, slow, in pain, lonely,
bored, useless; but feeling old is also
feeling wise, satisfied with a life well
lived, and engaged in contributing
to today’s issues from a lifetime of
experience,” Silvius says.